View source for Metin



==General information==
Metin is the official lingua franca of a confederation of human states known as The Encirclement (sxuDaiwe). It is published and standardized by a division of said body known as The Library (sxuQ'ostin). It has spoken, written, and binary forms, spanning all modes and media of communication. The full breadth of the language is used for interpersonal communication and the law,
and for communications with sapient serviles, while restricted subsets are used for communicating with the APIs of
simpler machines and devices. It is descended from an amalgamation of popular human and machine dialects that preceded the formation of the sxuDaiwe. 

==Phonology==
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented. Some consonants are romanized differently depending on whether or not they are in the onset or coda of a syllable, these are presented as comma separated pairs. Those which are marginal are indicated with an asterisk. Tildes separate the multiple realizations of a given singular consonant phoneme.
|-
!Manner↓   Place→    !!Bilabial !! Dental    !! Lateral   !! Alveolar !! Alveopalatal !! Retroflex !! Palatal !! Velar    !! Labiovelar !! Uvular  !! Glottal 
|-
! Voiceless Stop     
                     |/p/ p*   ||/t̪/ t      ||           ||          ||              ||/ʈ/ th     ||/c/ c    ||/k/ k     ||/k͡p/ kp     ||/q/ q    ||         
|-
! Voiced Stop        
                     |/b/ b*   ||/d̪/ d      ||           ||          ||              ||/ɖ/ d̨      ||/ɟ/ j    ||/g/ g     ||/g͡b/ gb     ||         ||         
|-
! Breathy Stop       
                     |/bʰ/ bh  ||/d̪ʰ/ dh    ||           ||          ||              ||/ɖʰ/ d̨h    ||/ɟʰ/ jh  ||/gʰ/ gh   ||/g͡bʰ/ gbh   ||         ||         
|-
! Ejective Stop      
                     |         ||/t̪ʼ/ t'    ||           ||          ||              ||/ʈʼ/ th'   ||/cʼ/ c'  ||/kʼ/ k'   ||/k͡pʼ/ kp'   ||/qʼ/ q'  ||         
|-
! Nasal Stop         
                     |/m~n/ m,n||           ||           ||          ||              ||           ||         ||          ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Voiceless Fricative
                     |/f/ f    ||/θ/ tj,t   ||/ɬ/ ł      ||/s/ s     ||/ɕ/ sx        ||/ʂ/ sh	   ||/ç/ ç,c  ||/x/ x     ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Voiceless Affricate
                     |         ||           ||/t͡ɬ/ tł    ||/t͡s/ ts   ||/t͡ɕ/ cx       ||/ʈ͡ʂ/ ch    ||         ||/ɣ/ gj,g  ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Voiced Fricative   
                     |/β/ w    ||/ð/ dj,d   ||/ɮ/ ɮ      ||/z/ z     ||/ʑ/ zx        ||/ʐ/ z̨      ||/ʝ/ y    ||          ||            ||         || /h/ h   
|-
! Voiced Affricate   
                     |         ||           ||/d͡l/ dl*   ||/d͡z/ dz*  ||/d͡ʑ/ jx       ||/ɖ͡ʐ/ j̨     ||         ||          ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Breathy Fricative  
                     |/βʰ/  wh ||/ðʰ/ dhj,dh||/ɮʰ/ ɮʰ    ||/zʰ/ zh   ||/ʑʰ/ zxh      ||/ʐʰ/ z̨h    ||/ʝʰ/ yh  ||          ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Breathy Affricate  
                     |         ||           ||/d͡lʰ/ dlh*/||/d͡zʰ/ dzh*||/d͡ʑʰ/ jxh     ||/ɖʐʰ/ j̨h   ||         ||          ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Ejective Affricate 
                     |         ||/t̪͡θʼ/ tj'  ||/t͡ɬʼ/ tł'  ||/t͡sʼ/ ts' ||/t͡ɕʼ/ cx'     ||/ʈ͡ʂʼ/ ch'  ||         ||          ||            ||/qχʼ/ qx'||         
|-
! Velar Affricate    
                     |/p͡x/ px  ||           ||           ||          ||              ||/ʈ͡x/ thx   ||         ||          ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Velar EJective Affricate 
                     |/pxʼ/ px' ||/t̪xʼ/ tx' ||           ||          ||              ||/ʈ͡xʼ/ thx' ||         ||/k͡xʼ/ kx' ||            ||         ||         
|-
! Approximant        
                     |/w/ u    ||           ||/l/ l      ||          ||              ||           ||/j/ i    ||          ||            ||/ʀ/ r    ||         
|-
! Trill              
                     |         ||           ||           ||          ||              ||           ||         ||          ||            ||         ||         
|}

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented.
|-
! Height↓  Backness→ !! Front !! Central !! Back 
|-
!Close               
                      |/i/ i  ||/ɨ/ į    ||/u/ u 
|-  
!Mid                 
                      |/e̞/ e  ||/ə/ ą    ||/o̞/ o 
|-
!Open                
                      |/æ/ ę  ||/a/ a    ||/ɒ/ ǫ 
|}
====Diphthongs====
{| class="wikitable"
!Nuclear Vowel↓  Glide→ !!V-/i̯/   !!/i̯/-V   !!V-/u̯/   !!/u̯/-V   !!V-/e̯/   !!/e̯/-V   !!V-/o̯/   !!/o̯/-V  
|-
! /i/
                        ||        ||        ||        ||/u̯i/ ui ||        ||        ||        ||
|-
! /u/
                        ||        ||/i̯u/ iu ||        ||        ||        ||        ||        ||
|-
! /e̞/
                        ||/εi̯/ ei ||/ie̞/ ie ||/e̞u̯/ eu ||/u̯e̞/ ue ||        ||        ||/e̞o̯/ eo ||
|-
! /ə/
                        ||/əi̯/ ąi ||/i̯ə/ ią ||/u̯ə/ ąu ||/əu̯/ uą ||        ||/e̯ə/ eą ||/o̯ə/ oą ||
|-
! /o̞/
                        ||/o̞i̯/ oi ||/i̯o̞/ io ||/o̞u̯/ ou ||/u̯o̞/ uo ||/o̞e̯/ oe ||        ||        ||
|-
! /æ/
                        ||        ||/i̯æ/ ię ||/æu̯/ ęe ||/u̯æ/ uę ||        ||        ||/æo̯/ ęo ||/o̯æ/ oę 
|-
! /a/
                        ||/ai̯/ ai ||/i̯a/ ia ||/au̯/ au ||/u̯o̞/ ua ||/ae̯/ ae ||/e̯a/ ea ||/ao̯/ ao ||/o̯a/ oa
|-
! /ɒ/
                        ||/ɒi̯/ ǫi ||/i̯ɒ/ iǫ ||        ||/u̯ɒ/ uǫ ||/ɒe̯/ ǫe ||/e̯ɒ/ eǫ ||        ||
|}
====Duration====
All 9 vowels may be long or short
====Tone====

===Consonants===


''Phonemes with * are marginal''

''Letters in parantheses are romanizations. Sequences of sounds that could be confused for digraphs are seperated by a dash ( sx, /ʃ/ vs. s-x, /sx/).''
===Phonotactics===
A syllable may optionally have an onset with any one consonant or the permitted consonant clusters (listed in consonants section). The nucleus must consist of a vowel or sequence of vowels (vowels do not dipthongize, rather a sequence of vowels is pronounced with each vowel distinct.) The (optional) coda may be any fricative (including h and other breathy fricatives.

==Grammar==
Metin is a polysynthetic, VSO language with most grammatical information indicated on the verb
==Noun morphology==
Metin numbers are divided into genders, which hold prefixes marking for the four cases and number. Number is not obligatory to mark, especially for inanimate nouns.
===Gender 1===
Gender 1 is exclusively for humans.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Gender 1: si: example sime> person.
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|sime
|oame
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|soome
|koome
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|sueeme
|keeme
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|sual*me>suarme
|oal*me> oarme
|}
The l* in sual*me and kal*me indicates that it is the archiphoneme l*, which changes to r before voiced consonants (see phonology)
===Gender 2===
Gender 2 is usually used to mark machines and complex objects, and to make machines of verbs. It does not have a plural form, although the prefix dha can be used optionally
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Gender 2: ee'q: example: ee'qca'z: aircraft
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|ee'qca'z
|(dhaee'qca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|i'qooca'z
|(dhai'qooca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|ye'nca'z
|(dhaye'nca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|yu'nca'z
|(dhay'unca'z)
|}

===Gender 3===
Gender 3 is used to mark a variety of inanimate objects.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Gender 3: fï: example: fïtooq: plant
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|fïtooq
|(dhatooq)
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|fuootooq
|(dhootooq
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|fintooq
|(jhintooq)
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|funtooq
|
(jhuntooq)
|}



===Gender 4===
Gender 4 is also used for inanimate objects, usually large immobile objects, or cities.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Gender 4: cà: example: càDUh: house
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|sxaDuh
|morDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|sxooDuh
|mooDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|sxAZDuh
|muZDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|sxuDuh
|muDuh
|}
===Gender 5===
Gender 5 is used for uncountable objects, like water or sand.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Gender 5: mi example: miji: water
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|
Mass
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|miji
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|muooji
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|minji
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|munji
|}

===Gender 6===
Gender 6 is used for abstract concepts and qualities, like love, justice, or colors. Gender 6 nouns are also uncountable.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Gender 6: lu example: luquo: the color white.
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|luquo
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|luooquo
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|luZquo
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|lunquo
|}

==Verbs==
The Metin verb is by far the most complex part of Metin grammar. Most of Metin verb morphology involves prefixes, allthough there are a handful of suffixes that can occur.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected" style="width: 500px;"
|+Metin verb template
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" scope="col"|Disjunct prefixes
! colspan="4" scope="col"|Conjunct prefixes
! colspan="2" scope="col"|Inner prefixes
! scope="col"|Stem
! scope="col"|Suffixes
|-
! scope="col"|Evidentiality
! scope="col"|Lexical
! scope="col"|Outer
! scope="col"|Theme Vowel
! scope="col"|Inner
! scope="col"|Object
! scope="col"|Subject
! scope="col"|Inner
! scope="col"|
! scope="col"|
|-
|im
|fu-syija
|h
|á
|x
|s
|h
|r
|keeh
|sis
|}
"imfusyijaxkiásáhorkeehis": he let you down bit by bit hanging from a rope (I saw so)

===Evidentiality===
Evidential prefixes are the simplest part of the Metin verb. They indicate how the speaker knows about what they're talking about. They have only two forms, one for if they are followed by lexical prefixes and one if they are not.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Saw/heard directly
! scope="col"|Saw/heard unclearly
! scope="col"|heard
! scope="col"|felt/smelled/ tasted
! scope="col"|



Recording
! scope="col"|Hearsay/literature
! scope="col"|Inference
! scope="col"|Hope
|-
! scope="row"|Followed by lexical prefix
|im
|om
|iq
|oq
|il
|ol
|Az
|eS
|-
! scope="row"|Followed by something else
|iem
|uom
|ieq
|uoq
|iel
|uol
|ooz
|ioS
|}
Examples of usage: iemïdheu: he/she's climbing (I see him climbing) vs. imhaadheu: he/she's climbing up (I see him)

uoqïdheu: he/she's climbing (someone told me/ I read it) oqhaadheu: he/she's climbing up (someone told me/ I read it)
===Lexical prefixes===
Lexical prefixes are a large and varied group. Some, like "ha" and "fu", indicate direction of motion. "syija" indicates that a string or rope was somehow involved. "ma" is used in subjunctive clauses to mean "if" There is no strict limit on the number of lexical prefixes a verb may have, allthough it is rare for there to be more than 3. The lexical prefixes are ordered roughly like this.

direction>instrument>posture>time

fu-syija-txë-łi-  huhedheu

down-with rope-entire body-long time     climbed(refexive)

He climbed down slowly with a rope a while ago.

Lexical prefixes will be listed in the dictionary rather than the grammar, except for a few of the more important.
==Inner prefixes==
Inner prefixes bear the greater portion of the grammar in Metin, and they interact with eachother in complex ways, thus, it is difficult to talk about them in isolation.
==The subject prefixes==
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Inclusive
! scope="col"|Exclusive
|-
! scope="row"|1st person
|o
|um
|ał
|-
! scope="row"|2nd person
| colspan="3"|f
|-
! scope="row"|3rd person
| colspan="3"| -
|-
! scope="row"|4th person obviate
| colspan="3"|q
|-
! scope="row"|4th person proximate
| colspan="3"|á
|-
! scope="row"|Interrogative
| colspan="3"|iz
|-
! scope="row"|Passive
| colspan="3"|më
|}
These are the basic forms of the subject prefixes. The prefixes rarely surface identically to their basic form, but instead change according to their environment. The verb below shows the forms of the prefixes when they are not preceded nor followed by any other prefixes.
===Bare subject prefixes===
Notice two things: Every subject prefix recieves an initial cononant (o to wo, iz to hiz), vowelless prefixes get a peg hï, f changes to hu, yał changes to yeł, and the verb recieves the suffix -wa to indicate plurality.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of 0-dheu: to climb
|-
|

wodheu

"I climb."
|
wundheuwa

"We climb."
|
yełdheuwa

"Youn and me climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hudheu "You climb." hudheuwa "Y'all climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hïdheu "He/she climbs." hïdheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hïqdheu "He/she climbs." hïqdheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|yádheu "He/she climbs." yádheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hizdheu "Who climbs?"
|-
| colspan="3"|mëdheu "It is climbed."
|}
===With evidentials===
This table shows the form of the prefixes when preceded by an evidential. Notice how the subject prefixes are now almost identical to their base forms (except f, which has changed to u. f changes to u whenever it is sandwiched between two consonants.)
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Present conjugation of iem-0-dheu: to climb (as seen by speaker)
|-
|

iemodheu

"I climb."

(I see so.)
|
iemundheuwa

"We climb."

(I see so.)
|
iemałdheuwa

"You and me climb."

(I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemudheu "You climb." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iendheu "He/she climbs."  (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemïqdheu "He/she climbs." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemádheu "He/she climbs." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemizdheu "Who climbs?" (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|ienmëdheudheu "It is climbed." (I see so.)
|}
===With lexical prefixes===
This table shows the forms of the subject prefixes when preceded by a lexical prefix. Notice how the lexical prefix's vowel is long in the forms marked with an *, and short elsewhere. Forms marked with a * trigger what is known as the ''lexical prefix vowel change. ''The lexical prefix vowel change usually lengthens the prefixes vowel, but occasionally other changes will happen (For example, the lexical prefix drai changes to drayee before an *, as in drayeefdheu (drai-f*-dheu), "You barely finish climbing." Vowel changes will be listed next to a lexical prefix's entry in the dictionary.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of ha-0-dheu: to climb upwards
|-
|

hódheu (hao>ho)

"I climb up."
|
hondheuwa (hau>ho)

"We climb up."
|
hałdheuwa (haał>hał)

"Youn and me set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|haafdheu* "You climb up." haafdheuwa* "Y'all climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haadheu* "He/she climbs up." haadheuwa* "they climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haaqdheu* "He/she climbs." haaqdheuwa "They climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|hayádheu "He/she climbs up." hayádheuwa "They climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haaizdheu* "Who climbs up?"
|-
| colspan="3"|hamëdheu "It is climbed up."
|}
==Classifiers==
Classifiers are prefixes that come after the subject prefixes, usually indicating transitivity. There are 2 classifiers, a and e
===Combination of subject prefixes with classifier e===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Present conjugation of e-goon: to set it, place it
|-
|

wegoon

"I set it."
|
wumiegoonwa

"We set it."
|
yełiegoonwa

"Youn and me climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|*wegoon "You set it." *wegoonwa "Y'all set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*hegoon "He/she sets it." *hegoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*heqgoon "He/she sets it." *heqgoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|yáigoon "He/she sets it." yáigoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*hidegoon "Who sets it?"
|-
| colspan="3"|mëigoon "It is set."
|}
These subject prefix-classifier combinations are highly irregular and must be learned by rote. As before, forms arked with an * will trigger lexical prefix vowel change if preceded by one. The following table shows what these prefixes look like with preceding lexicals.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of fu-e-goon: to set it down
|-
|

fuwegoon

"I set it down."
|
fumiegoonwa (fuu>fu)

"We set it down."
|
fuałiegoonwa

"Youn and me set it down"
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuwegoon "You set it down." *wegoonwa "Y'all set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuhegoon "He/she sets it down." *fuuhegoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuheqgoon "He/she sets it down." *fuuheqgoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|fuyáigoon "He/she sets it down." fuyáigoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuidegoon "Who sets it down?"
|-
| colspan="3"|fumëigoon "It is set down."
|}

==Adjectives==

==Syntax==
==The Noun phrase==
===Simple Noun phrases===
A simple noun phrase consists of at least 1 noun, the head noun, declined for case/

fïgoon "chair"

The head noun may be followed by one or more descriptors, such as adjectives or demonstratives

fïgoon Za "that chair"

fïgoon mui's "beautiful chair"

It may be followed by a postposition

fungoon mui's Za dez "by that beautiful chair"

It may be posessed, in which case the head noun recieves a suffix marking the person and number of the posessor, and the posessor is marked in the oblique case.

fïgoomen mui's suarme Za "that person's beautiful chair"

fïgoomi mui's oarme Za "those people's beautiful chair"

fïgoomo "my chair"

fïgoomen "his/her chair"

It may recieve a preposition

txoh fïgoon ta "along with this chair"
===Complex Noun phrases===
'''Conjunctions'''

Two noun phrases may be linked by conjunctions such as ppi or zxá

fïgoomen quo Za ppi fïtooq tliue ta "that white chair and this green plant"

fïgoomen quo Za zxá fïtooq tliue ta "that white chair or this green plant"

fïgoomen quo Za hi fïtoq tliue ta hu "that white chair, this green plant, and other things"

'''Comparisons'''

Comparisons in Metin are structured like this "Quality-posessive suffix-quantity-OBL-head noun-mu-compared noun

luquoyen zhaax fungoomen mu funtooq Za. whiteness-3ps great OBL-chair mu plant that "The chair is whiter than the plant" (Literal: The chair's whiteness is great compared to that plant."

luquoyen Gui fungoomen mu funtooq ta. "the chair is less white than that plant."
===The copulas Dhaa, bhaa, and mimi.===
The copula always comes first in the sentence

'''Dhaa'''

Noun phrases may be marked equivalent by the copula Dhaa

Dhaa sime te sibeh suałsuho. "That person by you is my friend's sister"

COPULA person here-by you sister-3ps OBL-friend-1ps

Or be stated without the copula to convey the same meaning

sime te sibeh suałsuho. (same meaning)

'''bhaa'''

The copula bhaa is used in the same way as Dhaa, but changes the phrase to a question. It is used most often in the respectful and distant registers.

bhaa sime te sibeh suałsuho? "Is that person by you my friend's sister?"

Like Dhaa, bhaa may be ommited, the only indication that the statement is a question being the tone of voice. bhaa is most commonly ommited in the close informal register.

sime te sibeh suałsuho? (same meaning)

'''mimi'''

The copula mimi indicates that two noun phrases are not equivalent. It is used like the other copulas.

mimi sime te sibeh suałsuho "That person by you is not my friend's sister"
==The Verb phrase==

[[Category:Languages]]